There are several theories about the origin of the name of
Lanzarote: Antonio de Nebrija derives Lanzarote
of the words lanza (lance) and rota
(broken), because the conqueror Jean de Bethencourt broke a
lance when he landed on the island. Though this theory sounds
very nice it is far from proven and also unlikely since the
Spanish word for broken lance is lanza quebrada.
Another theory claims that Lanzarote in Latin is
a kind of resin or rubber. There are plenty of bushes called
Tabaiba on the island, which produce a sweet and
thick sap, which could have given the island its name. Yet another
variation is the following: In the 13th century there lived
a trader from Genoa called Lancilloto Maloxelo. He used to travel
to an island, which was called Tytheroygatra by its natives.
He did business with the inhabitants of this island for 15 years
and then named it after himself: Lanzarote.
According to first visitors of this area there were 6 Canary
Islands without the 5 smaller islands, which form the Chinijo
archipelago. It is believed that the islands Lanzarote and Fuerteventura
were connected then (these two islands and Lobo are not separately
mentioned). There used to be a big wall in Lanzarote, which
split the island in two halves. This permits the conclusion
that there were two kingdoms. The people used to travel to the
mountains for sacrifice rituals with raised hands and spilled
cups of milk. A crown was found of which it is believed to be
the crown of the first king who managed to unite the two realms.
The crown is made of goat leather decorated with shells.
On the 7th of September the corsair Calafat attacked the island
under the order of the king of Fez. He had nine galleys with
seven flags and 600 marksmen. The count of Lanzarote could capture
one flag and kill 50 pirates but the pirates destroyed the whole
island and took more than 90 prisoners.
At the end of 1586 the Algerian corsair Argelino Morato attacked
the island with seven galleys 800 soldiers and 400 Turks. After
he attacked the Castillo de Guanapay twice he could be defeated
but with the loss of the governor Diego de Cabrera Leme. Morato
burned vast amounts of wheat and barley and also all the files
and letters of the officials. Therefore no documents or manuscripts
could be saved. (from www.immo7.com
)